Arraignment postponed for suspected drunk driver in crash that killed two men

LANCASTER – Tommie Lee Cole, the 24-year-old man accused of driving drunk and causing a collision that killed two Walmart employees on their way home from work, was scheduled to be arraigned in court Thursday. But Cole’s arraignment was postponed, once again, this time to May.

Superior Court Judge Steven Ogden agreed to continue Cole’s arraignment to May 1 to allow the defense time to have an accident reconstructionist study the collision scene, before the preliminary hearing.

Cole is facing eight felony counts, including two counts of murder, for the collision on Feb. 26 that killed Jeffrey Gilstrap and Beau Josh Owen Fluker.

The men were carpooling home from a late night work shift when the vehicle they were riding in collided with Cole’s vehicle at the intersection of 20th Street West and Avenue J in Lancaster.

Cole was determined to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, according to authorities.

Cole was initially arrested for felony DUI, but was later charged with two counts of murder, two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, two counts of driving under the influence and causing injury, and two counts of driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or greater and causing injury, according to court records.